Loss
by Snark-N-Moon
Summary: Rippen knows he should just be satisfied with the fact that he finally has a moment to himself... but curiosity gets the best of him. Prompt for Rippen/Larry week on tumblr.


Rippen had always cherished his lunch breaks during the school week. After endless hours of being surrounded by unruly children that held the misguided misbelief that art didn't require any thought or work, he really did deserve the time to himself. Sure, he never truly got to be alone, as Principal Larry would always come into his classroom, bringing his specially prepared lunch made by his butlers in a lunchbox that was practically filled to the brim with sweets- making sure to prattle on about the random thoughts he had saved up during the day just to specially tell HIM. It was taxing, it was annoying… but dear lord, it was still somehow better than being in a classroom full of students. One idiot was far easier to ignore than thirty-two of them.

It was five minutes into his lunch hour and Rippen began to strum his fingers impatiently on his desk. A nasty habit, especially with the time and effort he put into keeping them manicured, but one couldn't always control their subconscious mannerisms. The art teacher threw a glance up towards the clock, noticing it had now been eight minutes and still Larry was not there. Larry, mister magically punctual himself, and yet he was missing. Gone. Not there at all.

"Wait a moment, what am I complaining about?" Rippen asked himself aloud. "This is what I've been wanting for years! FINALLY I can have a true break from all petty annoyances. I'll actually ENJOY my lunch for once!"

In almost a giddy fashion, the part-time villain opened his desk drawer and pulled out his bagged lunch. While the grocery bag might have been dingy and tacky looking, his Amish chicken salad on sourdough was not. Rippen took his time unwrapping the paper around his precious parcel as he spread it out as a makeshift plate. Pulling out his container of sliced apples and pouring the tea he had brewed that morning into the lid-cup of his thermos, Rippen snuggled deeper into his chair as he raised his sandwich to his lips for the first bite.

Only to, instead, promptly put it back down.

" _Oh, who am I kidding?_ " The art teacher said with a sigh, rubbing his temples. " I despise change and the lack of Larry's aggravating presence will only keep me from the satisfaction of a pleasant meal anyway."

Leaving his lunch exposed and out in the open, Rippen left the safety of his classroom- determined to get to the bottom of the mystery he found himself with.

* * *

The first indicator that something was wrong came from the fact the door to the principal's office was closed. Larry NEVER kept the door closed. To him, it was showing hostility towards the school body and made him seem unwelcoming. Rippen had told him many a time that literally nobody was ever thinking that and simply saw it as a closed door, but the head of the school would have none of that. So to see it closed, hiding away the man he was looking for… Why, it made him all the more curious to know what could be the matter.

"Nothing is wrong," the part-time villain scolded himself, scowling at the fact he was mildly uneased. He couldn't believe it, him… WORRIED! How absurd, how ludicrous. Why in the world would HE be concerned? Nothing ever bothered the happy-go-lucky nincompoop, he lived off of the smiles of infants and the colors of rainbows. Nitwits never had the LUXURY of stress in their lives because they didn't know they were supposed to be an anxious mess like the rest of humanity. Really, what the art teacher SHOULD have been doing was turning on his heels and going straight back to his room where a delicious and carefully prepared midday meal was waiting for him.

Instead Rippen turned the handle of the office door, cautiously opening it as he peeked his head inside. There, head laying on the desk and hidden from his vision was the henchman he was looking for- his golden glasses neatly folded next to him. Was he… was he napping? The slightest of whimpers told him that no, he was not, and Rippen open the door wider.

"Larry? What in the world are you doing?"

The call of his name caused the principal to jerk his head up- the man's eyes puffy, red, and stained with tears. Larry was crying. It was strange, it was new, and Rippen didn't like it. Well, no, he had to admit he enjoyed seeing it on some level- the brimming evil in his heart would always find some sort of satisfaction in the displeasure of others. But in this case it only angered him more as it added to the mystery of his off-kilter day. What was wrong _now_? Larry rarely ever cried. Usually when he did it often involved an animal running off and abandoning him, or some nonsense or another.

The short man fumbled as he grabbed his glasses, using one arm to wipe away some of his tears- with little success as he appeared to be unable to stop the stream. The principal sniffled, but managed a small smile anyway.

"Oh, h-hi Rippen. Enjoying your lunch break?"

"'Enjoying my lunch break'?!" Rippen repeated, jaw hung slightly agape in disbelief. "You have the nerve to ask me if I'm enjoying myself when you perfectly well know I'm not. Why was your door closed? Why are you hiding in your office like some old hermit?"

' _And why weren't you eating lunch with me_ ', a thought the part-time villain decided to keep to himself rather than voice. Larry sat there, silent as his bottom lip trembled. He open and closed his mouth a few time, looking more like one of those horrid talking fish that people liked to hang up on their walls. Finally the man just gave up entirely, as he threw his head back onto his desk and began sobbing loudly and uncontrollably.

Leaving Rippen standing at the entrance in total shock. Eyes wide with alarm, the part-time villain blinked a few times before shaking off his confusion. The hand that was still on the door was closed with a mere flick of the wrist as Rippen strode across the room and sat himself in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. With one leg crossed tightly over the other, the villain calmly rested his folded hands in his lap.

"Alright," he began slowly, taking a deep breath. "Clearly I'm not going to be able to get back to my lunch until I know what this is all about. So you might as well spit it out already so we can move on with our lives- me, a well balanced meal, and YOU…. You can just stop doing… _this_."

Larry, face still hidden by his chubby arms and the concealment of the desk, had reasonably calmed down- though the crying hadn't stopped completely. It was enough for him to try speaking again.

"I-I'm s-sor-," 'sorry' was cut off and muffled by more sobbing. But if Principal Larry was anything, he was certainly a trooper as he carried on despite his woe. "It's just I was… and, and HER!"

That was all he could managed before the grotesque blubbering took over once more. Oh, how Rippen was despising this, despising the roly-poly of a man for putting him THROUGH it. The art teacher rubbed his temples- the growing pressure in his head was deliberately trying to destroy the calm airs that Rippen was attempting to put on.

"How about we try and complete one of those thoughts this time, _hmm_?" Silence hung about as the henchman said nothing, Rippen's impatience grew. "Larry! You raise your head this minute and tell me what's bothering you!"

Larry did as he was told, as he pouted pitifully at the goblin-esque looking man.

"H-how am I supposed to get anything out, w-when you're yelling at me?"

Rippen raised a brow smugly.

"I don't know, but it seems to be working rather well."

Larry blinked in astonishment.

"Oh yeah, I guess it is. Well, you… you see, it's just so hard to SAY! It was bad enough being there, let alone having to retell the story. I mean, I'll do it. For you, big guy, but…"

" _But_ ," the part-time villain egged on.

"But why did she have to go and d-d-diiiie!"

The principal was back to sobbing frantically, but this time Rippen didn't scold him as he sat there in total shock. See, here Rippen had thought the entire time that Larry had been crying over something ridiculous. Like his teacup elephant, whatshisname, getting lost in the mansion again, or maybe he stubbed his toe over a flower or something else equally as ludicrous. But DEATH! And death of someone he apparently cherished, at that, was something different entirely. Even FULL-TIME villains had been known to be struck down in their prime by the untimely demised of a loved one. SURE, some rose above the despair to become a revenge seeking fanatic… but a good many didn't in the business. And Larry? Poor innocently naive and foolish Larry… Rippen questioned if his heart could manage it. Rippen needed to act fast, fix this or there was a good chance he would be out of a number two.

And hired help was just so difficult to find these days.

The taller man cleared his throat as he rose from his chair awkwardly, making his way behind the wooden desk where he laid a hand on Larry's back in comfort. Larry was too warm, radiating with a feverish heat that would not doubt burn Rippen in some fashion. Or so it at least felt like against his own cold dainty hand. Fighting his instinct to flinch away, the art teacher began to slowly rub the principal's back- doing his best to sooth him.

"There, there. It's alright, Larry. Take your time." Though hopefully not TOO much time. Rippen had hopes of promptly getting past this inconvenience, after all. The henchman surprised him, however, as he swiftly swiveled about in his seat and latched his arms around the startled villain- resting his cheek on Rippen's stomach as he sniffled.

"It's just unfair!" Larry cried out. "No boy should go without their mother. It's just not RIGHT, Rippen, you know it's not right! She was a MOTHER! Mothers are supposed to be THERE for you. They w-watch you grow, help and love you with everything they have IN them. Like… like one time when my momma helped me, when I like seven, when… when there were some really nasty b-bullies that were picking on me. And I had told them 'hey, stop that or I'll go tell my mom'- but they DIDN'T stop! They DIDN'T, Rippen! So I DID go get my mom and she… she just told me that I was watching a m-m- _moooovie-ee-eee_!"

The part-time villain couldn't find it in himself to be angry about the fact his shirt was drenched from the other man's tears. It was nothing new to him that Larry absolutely adored his mother, he would talk about her all the time. Sure, he talked about loads of things endlessly- like the little chatterbox that he was- but even villains had soft spots for their mothers… unless they were a part of their traumatic backstory, but that was a different matter entirely.

Rippen could admit it, at least to himself, that his heart was beating rapidly in anxious concern and heartbreak over the pathetic little man clinging to him. It was sympathy, and OH how he loathed it. Yet, he was willing to work past his disgust as he bent himself over, allowing his arms to wrap around his number two in a comforting embrace.

"I… I genuinely don't know what to say, Larry. I'm dreadfully sorry for your loss. Do you… do you wish for me to help you with the funeral arrangements?"

The henchman sniffled, yet his crying had subsided- no doubt the hug from his favorite person in the whole wide world had comforted him in his time of need. Still curled up against the part-time villain, his voice was soft as he asked: "What… what funeral arrangements?"

"The ones for your mother, of course." Rippen uttered just as softly, but bluntly.

"Oh, my mother is perfectly fine. Best health she's had in years."

Rippen could hear the sound of glass breaking echoing off the walls of his skull as his eyes shot open wide. His nails, as if they had a mind of their own, dug deeper into the chubby man in his arms.

" _Nono, surely you're mistaken._ " The part-time villain reasoned that his henchman was just confused from grief. "I mean, if you weren't talking about your mother… then who DID die?"

"Oh, it was a character on my favorite cartoon show: Cosmos Stan. SEE, his mother was a rock but in order for STAN to be born she had to-"

"Larry," Rippen forcefully interrupted, unfolding himself from the principal as he looked down at him with a deadpan expression. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Uuuh, okay. If you say so. 'I'm joking.'" Larry repeated. Rippen glared.

"Are you telling me that because it's the truth, or because I TOLD you to tell me that?" Larry open his mouth, prepared to say more, when the part-time villain slapped his hand over it. "No, nevermind. I don't think I wish to hear any more, _thank you_."

Rippen removed the arms that were wrapped around him, before making his way around the desk and towards the door.

"R-Rippen, sweetie… where are you going?" Larry asked with concern. Rippen, standing tall and stiff and far too calmly answered back slowly.

"Quite frankly, Larry, I am so encompassed with rage at this moment that I've found myself going numb. Seeing as I happen to enjoy being employed and exchanging my services for monetary value, I don't wish to be fired, which is no doubt what will happen if I stay in your office any longer when I break down into my blinding rampage that is SURE to come. _I'll see you after school, Larry._ "

"Oh okay then! See you later Rip-" The door was slammed shut forcefully, knocking off the principal's diploma that was hanging framed on the wall. Larry blinked in confusion. "Pen… HUH. _I wonder if it was something I said_?"


End file.
